


Broken Hands and Weathered Souls

by AnarchyAgnew



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Drama, F/F, F/M, Humor, Romance, Swearing, Violence, maybe suspense?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25988293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnarchyAgnew/pseuds/AnarchyAgnew
Summary: Clementine and her crew come across a few new possible friends. Is it possible for the residents of Castle Violet and these mysterious strangers to coexist after all that happened with Lilly and her raiders? There's never really a guarantee.
Relationships: Aasim/Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	1. Who the Hell (Are These People?)

**Author's Note:**

> I've never done anything like this before but I enjoy everybody else's work so I figured I'd try my hand. Any criticism is welcome. I'm not perfect and don't pretend to be, so if you have any tips or suggestions I'm more than happy to hear them.
> 
> The first chapter is going to be used as an introduction for my OCs. Rest assured our favorite cast of teenage wastelanders is still very much in play. Hopefully I can find a good balance between the two groups without forcing anything. I've wasted enough of your time here, so without further preamble, please enjoy

The late afternoon sun hung high in the air, illuminating the lush green scenery with a blazing orange glow. The usual symphony of birds and crickets gently echoing in the background. From the outside looking in, you’d be forgiven for thinking the world is peaceful and perfect. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. The world is in fact a hellish landscape. Despite the picturesque setting, carelessness is a commodity that no one can afford.  


The United States as you once knew it is gone forever, replaced by a nightmare world wherein the dead roam the earth. They’ve only got one thing on their minds, and that is eating the flesh of the living. It seems to be their only driving force. Not all hope is lost however. Scattered across the country there are still many people surviving.  


Some of these survivors are loners, relying on their skills and brains alone to keep them alive. Others flock to groups, a strength in numbers mindset. Others still, have decided to capitalize on this world no longer based on law and order. These people only seem to live their lives sewing the seeds of chaos and watching the world burn. Its certainly not an easy life by any means.  


This day sees a few young people, five of them to be exact, each carrying a large duffle bag full of various supplies. This particular group of teenagers was in search of something they desperately wanted, a place to call home. Keep in mind these are not your average teens. Each of them had been witness to the cataclysm that tore the world apart. They’ve watched society at large crumble to nothing, and didn’t let it break them despite the horrors they’ve experienced.  


That’s not say they aren’t damaged, physically or emotionally. You don’t survive for as long as they have in an apocalypse without some kind of trauma after all. These remarkable young children have merely personified perseverance. They’ve battled the odds and beat them time and time again. A miracle in retrospect, given the fate of their original traveling companions.  


“Any movement Mason?” Came the question from a young man of 17, near the head of the pack.  


“I think we’re clear for now Ty.” 16 year old Mason replied from the rear of the group.

One of the girls in the group chose this moment to voice her thoughts, “It’s been at least 3 days since we’ve had any contact. Walker or Human. We should find someplace to rest and recuperate. We haven’t had a chance to count up what we got from that train wreck of a city yet.”  


The girl who made the suggestion was Olivia, Liv for short. 

“Good idea.” said Ty. “Sabrina, keep an eye out for a safe place we can use to lie low for a bit”  


“Got it boss.” she replied from the point position. The group continued down the rather desolate stretch of road. About an hour and a half later, the teens were brought to a halt when Sabrina caught their attention.  


“Guys there’s some kind of makeshift gate over there.” She pointed in the direction she was looking at. It seemed to be some kind of railroad depot, judging by the crashed boxcars everywhere. There didn’t seem to be much activity, usually a pretty good sign. Ty gave the place a careful once over, to see if he could assess any danger.  


Once he deemed it clear, he spoke up. “Good job Brina. Riley, you’re the quickest and the quietest. Sneak over and find a good vantage point.” he said, handing her a pair of binoculars. “Once it’s clear, give a whistle and we’ll join you.”  


Without a single word, Riley set down the duffle bag she was carrying and began creeping over to one of the upended boxcars. She swiftly climbed to the top of it and disappeared from view. After a 5 minute wait, the others heard a sharp whistle.  


“Looks clear as far as I can tell.” Riley reported once everybody was gathered, “We should take it easy regardless. Can never be too sure, y’know?” Keeping her cautious words in mind, the group proceeded, carefully through the gate. 

True to her word, the area seemed relatively quiet and decently secluded. Once inside the perimeter, Ty let his eyes roam around one more time. On this cursory glance he noticed a few things. An old tire swing, a water barrel and some kind of impromptu garden or farmland just to name a few.  


17 year old Liv was the first to break the silence. “I guess this was some kind of train station.” She mused. “I wonder why it’s here though. There don’t seem to be any warehouses or residential areas anywhere.”  


“Yeah that is a little weird. Maybe this was strictly a passenger station or something.” Came the reply from Sabrina. The teens all stacked up next to the only door they could find.  


“Keep your eyes peeled. There’s a water collection barrel and a farm plot here, so this very well could be somebody’s home.” Ty warned his friends. That part of his job done, he eased the door open and stuck his head inside. A brief viewing of the room proved it to be empty. “Clear.” Ty said, “Let’s get inside and take stock.”  


After they filed in Olivia, being last, closed the door behind her. The group of young survivors looked through the station but found nothing except an old trap door that opened up to reveal a scorched crater. “Jesus. Wouldn’t have wanted to be caught in that blast.” Mason said, cringing. After their search, the teens settled themselves comfortably in the back room to discuss their supply situation.  


“So did you guys have any luck? Mason and I found a couple rifles, a shotgun, and a few pistols.” Ty said, running down his checklist. “We also manged to snag enough ammo for at least a few weeks.” Mason added. “How about you Riley?” he asked.  


“I wasn’t able to find much.” She responded, “I guess when that settlement fell they raided the food storage or something. We’ve still got enough from the last few places but we’ll need to find some more soon. I'll feel better when we do.”  


“Noted.” Ty replied, “We’ll work on that as soon as we can. “Liv, Brina, how’d you guys make out?”  


“Pretty good actually.” Said Liv, the groups only medic. “Assuming we don’t get reckless and stupid, I think we can make these supplies last at least a month or two.”  


“Well it sounds like we’re decently set for now.” Said Ty, “Before we hit the road tomorrow, we’ll discuss where we’re heading. It’s too late to do anything else tonight,” he said, nodding to the ever darkening sky visible through the window, “so let’s get some sleep. Good night you guys."  


With that being said, they extinguished their lights, said their goodnights, and tried to find comfortable positions to sleep in. Their 3 day walk to where they were now must have taken a lot out of the teens because they were all sleeping peacefully within minutes, blissfully unaware of the adventure they were about to go on


	2. Mild Turbulence

The following morning brought more sunshine and another bout of summer heat. A pair of teenagers, a blonde girl and a young man of Indian descent were walking through a wooded path, speaking in hushed tones.

“So what do you think of this plan?” The young man asked his traveling companion.

“I already told you this morning during the meeting Aasim,” She replied, mild irritation lacing her voice, “I think annexing the train station is a great idea. I’m just worried about keeping it up and running and keeping it protected. There’s tons of crazy assholes in the world now.”

“C’mon Vi.” The boy now identified as Aasim said, “We haven’t had any trouble with strangers for at least a year. The last ones to bother us were Lilly and her fucking goons. Besides if it’s possible, we could really use the land. The greenhouse is great but we’re running out of room in the planters.”

“Yeah that’s good in theory. Keeping crops alive is harder than it sounds though. Especially when we’d have to lug water all the way out here. Add that to the fact that this place is so far from the school, and we’d have a hell of a time keeping it secure.”

“Well maybe we could sleep here in shifts. Or assign someone out here from sun up to sun down or something.” Came Aasim’s rebuttal. “It very well could not be worth the effort but I’d rather not pass up the chance if we can make it happen. Clem seems to agree.” He finished with a shrug. Violet gave a loud groan and grumbled, “Fine. We’ll see if it’s possible you worrywart. There it is.” she said pointing, “The faster we can get this done the faster we get back home."

“You just wanna make out with your girlfriend.” Aasim teased with a snicker. “You’re one to talk.” Vi said, a playful glint in her eye. “You thought nobody would see you and Ruby sneaking inside after dinner?”

Aasim blushed heavily and gave Vi a rather intelligent “Shut up.” in response. This sent Vi into a fit of giggles and before long Aasim found himself chuckling a little too. Deciding to enjoy their moment of friendship, two teens walked the final 10 minute stretch in amicable silence. When they reached the gate, Vi found herself stopped by Aasim’s outstretched arm.

“What’s up?” She asked, curiosity gnawing at her. Aasim didn’t respond right away, choosing instead to scan the area. “Aasim? What’s wrong?” she asked again. “I’m not sure. Something feels kind of off. Like we’re not alone anymore.” He replied, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow. “Get your bow out and keep your eyes peeled.” He advised. “Just in case.” 

Vi did as she was told, figuring that if Aasim was nervous about something, she should be too. His instincts were usually pretty good. Aasim wasn’t once to mince words or make jokes in the field. The pair proceeded cautiously through the area. No walkers in sight or anything really. It seemed as quiet as it usually was. “There doesn’t seem to be any immediate threat.” She said, relaxing her bow a bit. 

“We haven’t checked inside yet.” Was the response from her partner. “Don’t let your guard down.” That being said, he eased the front door open and peered inside. “So far, so good. Let’s scope that back room.” He whispered, nodding to a steel door. They both crouched and silently made their way to the door. Halfway there, they heard a groan or something that spurred them into action. Bursting through the unlocked door, bow drawn and ready to fire, the sight that greeted him was definitely not what he was expecting.

He found himself facing 5 dirty faces and 2 clean pistol barrels. Right after his charge, Vi also found herself in a slight state of shock after racing through the door, arrow at the ready. Unlike Aasim, she lowered her bow entirely out of surprise. “Who are you and why are you here?” Came the commanding voice of Aasim, as he raised his bow further and pulled the string a little tighter. No answer came.

“Well?” he said impatiently, “I’m waiting.” The young man directly in front of Aasim remained quiet, though he did slowly lower his gun. “I’m sorry,” said the boy in a soft voice, “we didn’t know this was your place. We just needed somewhere to sleep and take stock. We were literally just about to leave.” 

“Where exactly are you going?” Vi asked, worried the school might be in danger. “We’re not really sure.” Came the reply from the other boy, still holding his gun, ready to fire. “We were discussing that when you busted in on us.”

“Mase put your gun down.” Ty ordered. “If they were gonna kill us, they would’ve done it by now." Mase didn’t look happy about it, but complied nonetheless. “Look,” Ty began, “we really were actually on our way out. If you let us walk away, you’ll never see us again. Nobody needs to get hurt here.” he finished, a pleading quality to his voice.

“The problem with that,” replied Aasim, “is now, you know where this place is. What’s to stop you from coming back with a gang of people and trying to find us?” “Well for one thing, it’s just the 5 of us. We don’t have a gang to run to. Secondly, from a first glance, the two of you don’t have anything worth stealing, much less anything we’d kill you for. We don’t really need to take anything from you.” He said, nodding to the duffle bags behind his people.

Vi couldn’t help it. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “What’s all that stuff?” With a small grin, Ty answered, “Supplies. Food, guns, ammo, medical provisions. Y’know, necessities.”

The mention of medical supplies caught Vi’s attention immediately. Their supply was starting to dwindle despite the collection they managed to procure from the ship before it blew up. The cogs in her brain began to spin and before she could stop herself, she asked, “Would you be interested in trading for those medical supplies?”

She expected to be rejected outright, and was not disappointed. “No offense, but I kind of already pointed out that you have no leverage here.” Ty responded. “Sorry but no deal.”

“You’re right. We don’t have anything. At least not here. But if you come back to our camp with us, maybe we can work something out.” She offered. She was met with looks of skepticism and she swore one the girls rolled her eyes and scoffed. She didn’t care either way. Her friends needed those supplies and she was willing to do near anything to get them.

“Are you out of your fucking mind Violet?! We don’t know these people! There’s no guarantee they won’t just kill us and take our space!”

Mason then interjected, “You know I could’ve easily put you down when you barged in here.” he said, a little defensively. “You drew first.” “Yeah this hasn’t exactly been the warmest of welcomes.” One of the girls said in a shaky voice. 

“Look we’re sorry about that.” Violet said, “You caught us by surprise. We thought we were going to be alone and suddenly we weren’t. We’ve had a lot of trouble from outsiders, so our faith in humanity is a little broken. But I promise, we won’t hurt you unless you make us. Please come back with us.” She practically begged, looking Ty dead in the eye.

Nobody said anything for a solid five minutes and the staredown between Violet and Ty was steady for the duration of the silent stretch. Violet had never felt so scrutinized. It was as if Ty were trying to read her very soul through her eyes. Just when Vi thought she wouldn’t be able to bear the tension anymore, Ty spoke.

“Okay. We’ll come with you.” He said in his soft voice. That soft voice turned to steel with the next sentence. “Don’t do anything stupid. We’re not evil by any means but we also won’t take abuse lying down. Just so you know.” He finished with a very convincing glare.

“Okay.” Was her reply. “Gather up your things and meet us by the gate.” With that, Vi and Aasim took their momentary leave. Once the two of them reached the gate, Aasim spoke. “I hope you know what you’re doing Vi.” he said, his voice still wavering a tiny bit. 

“I hope so too.” she said wistfully. She was very well aware of how wrong this could go. Sure these people didn’t kill them today. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t later. Of course she had no way to know, but the same thoughts were traveling through Ty’s head. After a few more minutes of silence, the newcomers walked up to Vi and Aasim, apparently ready to go. “Alright. Let’s get a move on.” Said Aasim and with that, the 7 teens were on there way to this mysterious settlement, each group hoping the other wasn’t going to do something dumb. Hopefully this little meetup was not a sign of things to come


	3. Castle Violet

An hour later finds the group of seven making their way towards this hopefully real settlement. The silence between the two groups was tense. Not necessarily hostile but it was obvious the situation had rubbed people the wrong way.

“Exactly how far away is this place anyway?” The question came from an irritated Mason, breaking the strained silence. He had clearly not taken having an arrow aimed at his face first thing in the morning well. 

“It’s not much further now.” Was Violet’s measured reply. She was trying very hard to refrain from being her usual snarky self. Even if these people did kind of deserve it, something told her these weren’t the people to test. Guns and bullets aside, she needed to stay somewhat on their good side if she wanted to make a bid for those medical supplies.

“I’d watch the tone.” Aasim said, his voice taking on a stony quality. Clearly he wasn't worried about antagonizing the people with firearms. “You’re lucky we’re even bringing you here.”

“Oh yeah.” Sabrina cut in, sarcasm dripping from her words. “We’re super lucky. I wish I could start every morning with an aggro dickhead in my face threatening to kill me. That’s way better than breakfast!”

Violet smiled lightly despite growing tension. Aasim apparently felt differently. He stopped, forcing the others to stop and whirled around to face Sabrina. “Don’t even fucking start.” He warned. “You have no idea what we’ve been through. The last time strangers showed up, we got fucked over. I wasn’t about to let something else like that happen.” He finished with a piercing glare.

“We’ve all been through a bunch of bullshit.” She replied heatedly, “You don’t see us threatening anybody else’s lives do you?”

“Oh really? So those pistols in my face were for show were they?” He questioned back aggressively, face flushing with anger.

“Maybe if you hadn’t stormed in like you own the damn place-”

“Sabrina, that’s enough!” Ty said, an uncharacteristic commanding tone cutting across Brina’s growing tirade. “If they really have a camp somewhere, we need to get moving. Standing aroung arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Sabrina shot Aasim a venomous glare, then shrugged her shoulders and made a zipping motion across her lips and fell silent.

“Thank you.” Said Ty, his voice taking his soft tone once again. “There’s no sense in dragging this out. Let’s continue.” 

“Agreed.” Vi said. “C’mon we’re probably half an hour out now.” The group resumed their trek, the silence containing traces of hostility from the argument. Luckily, no more disagreements arose and, true to her word, they spotted a large walled in building in the distance. Ty and his group stopped dead in their tracks, mouths hanging slightly open and eyes wide in awe. 

“Hey slowpokes!” Violet called out. “You’re not behind walls yet! Get over here!” Apparently she and Aasim had kept moving while Ty and his friends were admiring. They scurried quickly to where Vi and Aasim stood waiting. The building was even more impressive up close.

There was a large building right in the middle, with a balcony that had a broken railing. The building to the left was shorter but definitely longer, with more windows. The entire compound was surrounded by brick walls, standing at least ten feet tall. Ty couldn’t see much else from his current angle but was already impressed.

To their right about fifteen feet away, was a very large front gate. It appeared to be sealed and reinforced with sheet metal. They seven of them stood in front of a much smaller side gate. Aasim pushed this one open and entered, the rest of them following suit.

Once inside, Ty’s jaw dropped ever so slightly lower. “What is this place?” he asked, wonder lacing his voice. Despite his mood from earlier, Aasim smiled lightly and replied, “This is Castle Violet. Our home.” At his response, Riley snorted. “Sorry!” She said when Vi and Aasim shot her looks of confusion. “It just doesn’t seem like a place that should be named ‘Castle Violet’ is all.” She finished with a nervous laugh. 

Aasim and Violet let our there own laughs. “Yeah well, our leader is kind of a goof.” Violet said through her giggles.

“Not to mention she’s practically obsessed with you Vi.” Aasim said with a grin. “Yeah well, who can blame her?” Vi replied with a smug smile of her own. 

Suddenly, Vi felt something crash into her with force. She looked down and saw a little boy clutching her around her legs. “Violet, Aasim! You’re back! How was it? Have any luck?” All of this was said in rapid succession. “Hey buddy.” She greeted him, a large smile present on her features. She returned his hug and said, “We didn’t really get a chance to scope things out.”

It was then that he seemed to notice the new people. He released Vi and asked, “Who the hell are these people?” He looked a little nervous and his hand started reaching slowly behind his back. Vi gently grabbed his wandering hand. “That won’t be necessary Aj. Do me a favor and get Clem and the other okay?”

He hesitated for just a moment, but did as he was told in the end. “Okay, we’ll meet you guys by the flagpole.” he said, departing. Moving over to the designated meeting spot, the group stood in silence, waiting for the people to gather. “How many people do you have here?” Asked Liv. “Eight plus our dog Rosie.” Aasim replied

“This is a ton of space for just seven people.” Said Riley. “Leads me to wonder why you’re struggling with medical supplies. Carelessness? It can’t be overpopulation” She mused aloud

“Well there used to be a lot more of us. When it all began there were 32 kids here. The adults all ditched us and over the years we’ve...we've lost a lot.” Aasim said, a shadow of grief passing over his features. 

“As for the need for the supplies,” Violet started, “we had to use a bunch of our stock last year after we got into a scrap with some crazy assholes. Clem was also a big reason why we’re running so low. You’ll understand when she gets here.”

It didn’t take long for them to understand what she meant. Ten minutes after Vi and Aasim explained their lack of medicine, a girl of about seventeen was making her way towards them on crutches. The necessity of these crutches weren’t questioned once Ty’s group saw she was missing her leg from upper shin down. When she finally reached the seven of them, she stopped and appraised the newcomers before her. Her eyes told a much different story than her lack of a leg did. They were a golden amber color and conveyed a wisdom beyond her years.

She looked each newbie directly in the eye. When her eyes met Ty’s, something clicked in both of them. Not a feeling of romance. Not even one of friendship. It was more like a moment of recognizing a kindred spirit. Someone who got it. Someone that’s been to hell and back and remains standing. 

Of course there’s the visual clues. Loss of appendages and scars for example. A true survivor knows exactly where to look to find out who a person truly is. The eyes are the window to the soul. Clichés are cliché for a reason after all. The subtlety of eye contact and facial movements can give even the most successful of liars away. 

No matter the person you can never hide who you truly are. Not forever at least. The girl held Ty’s gaze for another minute before making up her mind. She reached towards him slowly and said, “Hi. I’m Clementine.”

After a moments hesitation, Ty gripped her hand firmly. “Ty. I hear we might be able to help each other out.” 

“Maybe we can.” She replied carefully. “We’ll talk about it when everybody else gets here.” Thus they waited. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be a long one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally arrive at Castle Violet. The next chapter will help flesh out my characters a little more. I wanted to wait to do it until the groups converged as one. No sense in repeating all of it multiple times y'know? As usual any feedback you'd like to give me is welcome. Pretty thick skinned here so don't sugarcoat it. Thanks for reading ^_^


	4. Home At Last?

Not long after their introduction to her, Clementine led Ty and his friends to a makeshift lounge area. There were a couple of couches and some armchairs arranged into a semi-circle. The furniture had a bounty of water stains and was certainly grubby. It looked very comfortable nonetheless.

Considering the fact that these were the best accommodations they’d seen in weeks, Ty and his group didn’t hesitate to get off of their tired feet. Clementine squinted a little bit and Ty thought for a moment that they had somehow offended her. His fears were quelled when she said, “Aasim, take Willy and grab another couch. I don’t know if there will be enough seats.”

Aasim nodded and made his way towards a group of people moving towards the couches. He pulled a small brown hair boy to the side and shortly thereafter, both boys headed into the large central building. A few moments later, they were lugging a medium sized couch to where the others were.

Once they had it in place, the rest of Clementine’s people also took a seat. “This is all of your people?” Ty asked, looking around. “If it is, we should get down to business.

“Yes this is all of them and I agree.” Responded Clementine “Great.” Replied Ty, keeping his eyes focused on Clem. “Your friend here says you’re running low on medical supplies. She said you might be open to a trade.” Several pairs of eyes landed on Violet.

She blushed a bit at the looks but said, “I had to take a shot. We really need the medicine.” She capped off her defense with a small huff. “Yeah but where did you find these people?” asked a round faced, red haired girl. Her voice had a sharp southern twang to it.

“They were sleeping in the train station.” Replied Aasim. “Let’s just say it wasn’t really a loving reception on either side.” He said. “Yeah thanks again for that by the way.” Sabrina said waspishly. “Suffice it to say, neither of us appreciates surprises.” Aasim said, pointedly ignoring Sabrina’s outburst.

“Well during the little Mexican standoff we had, I noticed they all had those duffle bags hanging off their backs. So I asked what was in them.” Violet continued with her explanation. Once I heard medical supplies, I offered a trade.”

“Did you check to see if they were lying?” The little boy, Aj, asked. “It sounds like bullshit to me.”

“Well, no.” Vi replied sheepishly. “They had superior fire power. I didn’t want to piss them off even more.” This sent another wave of confusion through the group. If they had the better weapons, why were they the captives? An air of unease began to settle on the teens. Sensing the shift in tone, Ty broke the silence.

“Look we came because it was easier to go along with it than risk lives unnecessarily.” He said. “I honestly thought these two were just trying to get us deep enough in the woods to fuck us over. Obviously, I was wrong. As a show of good faith, we’ll show you what we’ve got. Guys, drop the bags.”

Practically in unison, Ty’s people dropped the bags in the center of the ring of couches. “Go ahead. We’ll let you open them.” Ty said gesturing to the pile of bags. “Ruby, Willy, could you open those up for us? I’m very curious.” Clem said.

The red haired girl and the mousy brown haired boy who helped Aasim, both knelt down by the bags. Ruby, the red head, grabbed the nearest one to her and unzipped it. She peered inside and she felt her jaw drop a little. “Go ahead and pull it out.” Ty encouraged her.

She pulled jar after jar out of the bag. Rice, beans, fruit preserves, canned meats, and many, many small baggies of what appeared to be seeds. The bag held enough food to feed Ty and his friends for weeks if they rationed it correctly. “It gets better.” Said the blonde girl in Ty’s group. “Looks inside that one.” She said pointing to one next to Willy’s foot and smirking.

Willy opened the one she had indicated. His eyes widened as he started pulling out firearms. In total, there were two hunting rifles, a pump action shotgun, and three pistols. “All the ammo is in that bag by Ruby.” Mason said, nodding to the bag in question. “It’s not the biggest collection but they get the job done.” He said with a shrug.

“Those,” said a girl with shoulder length brown hair and glasses said, “are our meds.” she finished with a point to the last bag. Ruby opened this one and started pulling out bandages, gauze, tape, rubbing alcohol and other disinfectants, thread, stitching needles and painkillers.

The Castle Violet crew looked at the stash in amazement. Even Violet and Aasim who had been previously aware of the stash were astonished. Knowing it exists and seeing an overflowing bounty are two different things after all. “Where the hell did you get all this?” Clementine asked, unable to keep the wonder out of her voice.

“You just have to know where to look.” Ty responded. “Really it’s all thanks to Riley. She’s got wicked sharp eyes. She’s a pro when it comes to finding stashes.” Riley beamed at the compliment. “People have been hoarding stuff for years now. If I catch any sign of an area that might have been used as a safehouse, I basically force these guys to search it with me. It makes it a pain to get anywhere but it definitely pays off.”

“So you guys steal from people?” Ruby asked cautiously. “We try not to.” Riley replied. “If we’re down to the nitty gritty, yeah, we’ll steal. We try our damnedest to not let it get to that point though. You’d be surprised how many communities made a decent run at rebuilding before they fell.” She added. “Those places tend to have a bunch of shit leftover.”

“So what’s the verdict here?” Ty asked, “Do you think we can come to some sort of deal?”

Clementine was quiet for a moment. So far, none of these people were ringing her inner alarm bells. The problem she currently faced, is the fact that she was very aware of how little leverage she has. The food that they had at Castle Violet, she couldn’t give away.

Ty and his friends had more than they enough food anyway. They also had guns and each of them had a knife strapped to their bodies somewhere, so weapons were also off the table. She did have the one thing they probably didn’t, though she wasn’t about to offer it freely. She decided she could use this moment to find out more about these people.

Seemingly out of the blue, she asked, “What about the rest of you?” All she got in response were a cluster of confused faces. Realizing her mistake, her face flushed and she verbally repeated her inner monologue. “What I mean is, Riley is your scout slash tracker right? What do the rest of you do? How about you?” She asked pointing to the only other boy in Ty’s group. “What’s your name? What’s your role?”

“I’m Mason.” He said. “I’m the gun guy. I hang onto them and I clean them. I’m also the reason these dumbasses can shoot straight now.” He finished with a snicker. His cheek earned him a swift smack to the back of the head by the blonde girl.

“He’s not wrong, just an ass about it.” She said with a bright smile. “My name is Sabrina. I like to build things. I’m also what you might call a strategist. Planning and things, that’s my bag.”

“So you’re the leader?” Aj asked her. She smiled gently at the boy. “No sweetie. Tyler’s our leader. I’m just the smartest one.” She finished with a wicked smirk.

“The leader huh?” Clementine said to Ty, regarding his reaction closely. “Yeah I suppose.” He replied. “I’ve told them over and over to quit calling me that. As you can tell, my cries fall on deaf ears.” He said flatly.

“You don’t like being the leader?” Aj asked curiously. “It’s not that.” Ty replied softly. “The word leader implies that I’m above them. Like they’re my subordinates or something. I don’t like that. They’re my friends, not my followers.” He finished somberly.

“He’s also leaving out the fact that he’s saved our asses more than once.” Said Sabrina. “I’m the smartest and whatever but I’ve never seen anybody like Ty in crisis. He keeps his head and he’s gotten us out of more tight spots than I can count. That’s why he’s our leader.” She finished, a proud grin gracing her features.

The more Clem heard, the more it confirmed her belief that what she was about to propose was the right thing. She was already convinced but she wouldn’t be doing her due diligence if she didn’t learn all she could. That being said, she turned to the last person she had to address.

“How about you?” She asked the only member of Ty’s group she didn’t know by name. “I’m Liv. I’m our medic” She responded in a small voice. She was clearly not used to or comfortable being in the spotlight. Her quiet response further cemented Clementine’s resolve.

She had yet to meet a medic that was untrustworthy. Sure that bitch Eleanor had sold her out to New Frontier but Clementine couldn’t honestly fault her for that. Keeping that in mind, she sighed inwardly and said, “Getting back to the subject at hand, it’s become pretty obvious to me that I’ve only got one thing I can offer you in exchange for your medicine. I can’t make this decision by myself though, so I’m going to have to ask you to wait here while we discuss it.”

Ty was slightly taken aback that she had asked his permission for something in her own camp but nodded and said yes anyway. “What are you going to talk about exactly?” he asked.

“We’re going to discuss whether or not you can stay here.” She replied simply. Whatever Ty was expecting, that certainly wasn’t it. They literally just met. Mere hours ago, they had weapons trained on each others faces. Were they really about to get an invitation to stay?

It took everything in his power not to focus on the things he could have done differently. To not let guilt eat away at him for a decision that hasn’t even been made yet. The anxiety was all too real however. He looked at the mildly surprised, equally hopeful faces of his closest friends, as the others retired inside the building not too far from the lounge area.

Liv’s timid voice broke the silence. “Do...do you think they’ll actually let us stay?”

“Do we even want to stay?” Mason questioned. Nobody answered him. They didn’t have to really. The answer was an extremely resounding yes


	5. Trial Run

As Clementine led her friends to her room, she found herself lost in her thoughts. Was she making a mistake? She knew nothing about these people. She liked to believe she had developed, as Pete called it, ‘a pretty good bullshit detector.’ Her years of survival had indeed sharpened her instincts to a razor’s edge. She was far from perfect though.

She was well aware of just how far south this situation could go and how quickly. She also couldn’t disagree with Vi’s reasoning. They truly did need those supplies. Much like the vast majority of her life, offering them shelter could be risky. Hopefully it would pay off. She would rather not think about what happens if it turns out she was wrong.

It didn’t take them long to reach the room that Clementine shared with Aj and most nights, Violet as well. There wasn’t a ton of room, especially with 8 people crammed into the space. Clementine filed in after Louis, closing the door behind her. “Okay.” She said. “What do you guys think about this? About asking them to stay.”

“Well...my biggest question,” Began Ruby, “is about where they came from. I mean, they say it’s just them but who knows if they’re telling the truth. They could be working with somebody.”

“Working with who though?” Asked Omar, the resident chef. “I don’t think anybody knows about this place other than those Delta goons. And none of them made it back to their camp.”

“What about the whisperers? Y’know, James’ old group?” Willy inserted.

“No I don’t think so.” Clem said. “They weren’t wearing the skins. It sounded like that was a big part of the Whisperers deal. I doubt they’d give that up even if they got out. James never got rid of his.”

“What about those guys you were with Clem?” Asked Violet, remembering a few times Clementine had mentioned them. “New...something.”

“New Frontier?” Clem asked. Violet nodded in response. “No I don’t think so. We can check them for brands if you want. I doubt they’re with them though. As far as I know, the New Frontier is gone.”

“How do we know they won’t hurt us?” Aj asked, sounding a little worried about the prospect.

“As much as I hate to say it,” Aasim said, “I don’t think they’re gonna do anything like that. They had a major chance to take out both me and Vi. Yeah we got the drop on them but you saw those guns. They’ve got some serious hardware. We’re outgunned by a long shot and they haven’t made a move yet.”

Clementine didn’t say it out loud but she agreed with him wholeheartedly. They’ve had many chances to use those guns. If they were going to, they would have already. She knew what trigger happy looked like and it didn’t look like those kids out there.

“Even if they aren’t gonna kill us, where are they going to sleep?” Willy asked. “We don’t have any open rooms. Making them sleep outside doesn’t feel right.” 

“I’m sure we could find somewhere for them.” Violet said. “We could even take down one of those barricades and use some of those rooms.”

“What about food?” Ruby cut in. “We can barely scrounge up enough for ourselves. Adding five more mouths to feed is only going to crank up the difficulty on hunting.”

“Come on Rubes.” Aasim said pleadingly, using the nickname for her that he alone is allowed to use. “They have a shit ton of food. Yeah it won’t last forever but I know you saw all of those seeds they had. These guys are good. They clearly think ahead. If that’s not a good enough reason, then think of it like adding their strength to ours.”

After having lost his tongue, Louis had obviously not spoken much. It’s not that he couldn’t. He just didn’t like to. It was kind of freaky and he didn’t like how dumb his lack of a tongue made him sound. His speechlessness didn’t make him any less obnoxious though.

One day, after getting frustrated about not being able to communicate as effectively as he once had, he decided to take a walk around the school. Mostly to compose himself and cool off before he lost his temper. It was on this walk that he found his new tool for annoyance; a dry erase board. 

That probably threw you for a loop right? How could you possibly annoy someone with a dry erase board? Well you’re dealing with Louis here. He’s a master of vexation if there’s ever been one. He found the most effective methods for causing irritation with his new toy. Tapping it loudly with marker caps, sliding his fingers across it to make an ungodly screeching sound, and tossing at people when they aren’t paying attention to him were his favorites.

This was one of those rare occurrences where he was actually using it for it’s intended purposes. He had become quite proficient at writing quickly. He had to be or he’d miss his cues for dumb jokes. His hand was moving rapidly back and forth across the board. A few moments later, he flipped it over so the others could read his message. 

‘I vote we keep them. If they gathered all that stuff up they can probably do it again right? I’d rather they bring it back here and split it with us rather than leave them in the cold and risk nobody having it if they die. Besides, Clem was a god send. You really wanna turn away 5 more of her?’

“I’m with Louis on this one.” Aasim stated. “Like I said earlier, adding their strength to ours can only help us in the long run.”

“They could have killed you Aasim!” Ruby said loudly. “And it only helps us in the long run if they don’t screw us over, which is always a possiblity!”

“Yeah they could have killed me but they didn’t. They were also completely honest with us. They’ve had every chance to run, lie or shoot and haven’t.” He responded. “I’d say they’ve earned at least a little trust.”

Willy and Ruby both still looked apprehensive at the thought of adding new people. Especially ones they didn’t know. Neither of them chose to argue back though. Which everybody else took as a sign of reluctant agreement. Clementine looked down at Aj. 

“What about you goofball? How do feel about it?” She asked him gently. He didn’t respond right away. Strangers were a complicated subject for him. No single group had ever been the same. Some of them were willing to kill and takeover what they thought they were entitled to. The burning of McCarroll Ranch was an example.

When he and Clem had finally reunited, she was kind of a stranger to him. It took a while to remember her at least. She was an example of strangers who would do anything to protect what they loved, including kill. Then there were the people who wanted to help you. Either because it was the right thing to do or because they had ulterior motives. Delta and his new friends respectively.

These new people didn’t seem to fit into any of these categories. How was he supposed to know what to do? Every time he met strangers, the outcome was different each time. “I don’t know…” he said, his voice trailing off. “They don’t seem bad though.” he finished, still sounding unsure

It was in this moment that Clementine was struck with an idea. “How about we let them stay for tonight? They can help us with our chores, we can get to know them separately and see how they work. And later, at or even after dinner, we can see if we can learn anything about them. We’ll make a decision about making it long term tomorrow.” “I think it’s a great idea.” Said Omar. “it’s a good chance to see if they’re full of it or not.”

“So we’re all okay with this plan?” Clem asked. She received a general murmur of agreement. “Awesome. Let’s go tell them they can stay the night. We’ll assign them jobs and then we all should get to work. Let’s go.” 

Fifteen or twenty minutes after they left Ty and his group at the couches, Clem and her friends emerged from the building they had previously entered. They walked as one back towards Ty and his friends, faces blank and unreadable. There wasn’t much distance they had to cover, but the anxiety floating around Ty’s skull made it seem like they were moving in slow motion.

“We’ve decided that you can stay for dinner. We’ll also let you crash here for the night.” Clementine told the newcomers. This puzzled Tyler a little bit. It was a one night offer? His spirit sank a fraction. “What about after tonight?” He asked, his voice taking on it’s usual soft tone. 

The look in his eye almost made Clem slip up and reveal her plan. Telling them they were being tested would skew the results. As much as it surprisingly pained her to see his hopes dashed, she had to do it. “Take it or leave it.” She said nonchalantly, trying her best to keep up the facade. 

“Well given those options, I guess we’ll take it. Dinner and bed for one night is better than nothing after all.” He responded. Clem’s face split into a bright smile. “Cool.” She said. “There’s no such thing as a free meal though.” She warned. “You’re gonna have to do a little work for your supper.”

It was Ty’s turn to grin. “I’d rather it be that way. I can’t stand freeloading. I’d much rather earn my keep.” he said. 

“Glad to hear it.” Clementine replied. “Today we’ve got a hunting party going out to check snares and try to catch some food. We’ve also got a couple people going fishing. There’s also work that needs to be done both in the greenhouse and around the school. So who’s going where?”

Mason was the first to speak up. “I’ll go out hunting. That’s kind of my deal anyway.”

“Alright.” Clem said. “You’ll be with Aasim and Louis today. Follow them and they’ll take you to our hunting grounds.” 

“Come on dude.” Aasim said. “We’ll go get you a bow then we’ll head out." He and Louis made there way towards the armory, Mason following closely behind. “I’ll go out fishing with you guys.” Riley said. 

“Cool.” Clem replied. “You’ll be with Vi and Aj. You all be safe and we’ll see you soon.” Aj, Violet and Riley all rose and exited the courtyard through the side gate and disappeared from view.

Olivia volunteered herself for greenhouse duty and got up to follow Ruby, who was apparently her partner for the day. The pair of them walked to the greenhouse, chatting away about plants and their experiences as amateur surgeons. “Guess that leaves you and me for repairs boss.” Sabrina said.

“Actually, I’d like to speak with Ty privately.” Clementine said, her eyes trained on him. He suppressed the urge to shudder. Those eyes were intense, regardless of the context. “O-okay.” He stuttered out. “Go ahead and go where they need you Brina. I’ll catch up later.”

“You’ll be working with Willy today. He’s a little weird but he’s a good kid. Don’t be afraid to get tough if he gets out of line okay?” Clementine said to her.

“Let’s go.” Willy said to Sabrina. “We’re wiring up the rest of the walls.” She stood and followed him, pausing only once to throw a look at Ty. “Go ahead. I’ll be okay.” he told her.

She nodded once and continued following Willy to their destination. Once they were out of sight, Ty helped Clementine stand, and followed her inside the large central building. He had a feeling this conversation was going to be long and probably unpleasant at times. Thankfully, it seemed he wouldn’t be the only one with those feelings. He still couldn’t help but think his friends got off easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done with the boring part. I know it's kind of slow and dull right now. I've already got the next few chapters written out in my notebook and plan to upload them soon. The next few chapters after this one will be dedicated to getting to know each character a little more and adding a little depth to each of them. Once i get just a little bit more about them established, we'll move into the meat of the story which will hopefully be a little more action packed. As usual criticism, tips and ideas are always appreciated


	6. Mason, the Barbarian

After showing him where they kept their bows, quivers and arrows, Mason and his hunting companions equipped themselves with the necessary equipment and made their way to the hunting grounds. A small part of him was still a little sore about his abrupt introduction to Aasim this morning. The only thing keeping him from lashing out were the words his father once said to him.

‘If you’re aren’t willing to throw a punch, you’re not that angry.’ It was actually pretty sound advice, despite how dumb it used to sound to him as a kid. Since he no longer felt like punching Aasim’s face off of his face, it’s probably best he tried to get over it. 

The silence was broken by a warning from Aasim. “If you see a ribbon tied somewhere, it means a snare trap isn’t far. Keep your eyes peeled.” Louis began rapidly scribbling across his whiteboard, which he wore around his neck with a piece of rope. Once he finished writing, he flipped the board over.

‘Trust me you don’t want to get caught in one. It’s definitely not as fun as cartooons used to make it look.’

“Bet you learned your lesson though.” Said Mason when he finished reading, a shit eating grin on his face. Louis only responded with a flat, humorless look, which sent Mason into a chuckling fit. Louis also found himself grinning. He loved a funny moment, even if it was at his expense.

“So what kind of game lives around here?” Mason asked Aasim. 

“As far as I can tell, there’s just a bunch of rabbits. We haven’t ever found any other animals.”

Mason took a moment to survey the forest around them. Given that it was late summer, there shouldn’t be just rabbits around. There could be foxes or even deer. “I bet you we can find something else.” He said to Aasim. “These woods are still pretty green which means there’s gotta be animals feeding around here.”

He moved a few yards ahead, his eyes trained on the ground. His head was moving back and forth, like he was scanning for something. After walking ahead about 10 feet, he dropped to his knees suddenly. “Guys get over here and look at this.” He called excitedly. Aasim and Louis hurried to his side and crouched down beside him. He was pointing at what appeared to be a small pile of pebbles.

Louis began writing again. He flipped the board when he was finished so Aasim and Mason could read; ‘Rocks?! You’re stoked over rocks?”

“They’re not rocks you dumbass.” Mason snapped. "It’s poop. Deer poop specifically. That means there’s at least one nearby.”

“I’ve never seen a deer around here before.” Aasim said, unable to keep the doubt out of his voice. “Well is there a watering hole anywhere?” Mason asked. There was indeed a watering hole. Aasim though of it almost immediately. The only issue was that it was outside of Marlon’s safe zone. 

By this point, Aasim was very well aware that the only reason Marlon even implemented the ‘safe zone’ was to minimize possible exposure to his raider buddies. That didn’t make it a bad idea though. While he saw the safe zone as more of a suggestion these days rather than an order, he was still hesitant. Clementine definitely wouldn’t give a shit though. Add that to the thought of possibly nabbing a deer and Aasim found his resolve crumbling.

“Louis, you empty and reset the traps. Take the food back home and tell the others where we are. Follow me Mason, there’s a pond about half an hour away.”

Louis grinned and winked for some reason, turned and walked back towards the traps. Aasim didn’t know what to make of the wink. Hopefully Louis would do what he was told for once. He sighed and said to Mason “Come on. Let’s go get this deer.” He started making his way following a northwesterly heading, Mason hot on his heels.

Thirty minutes later, they came across a small pond partially hidden by very tall reeds. The sound of gently running water could be heard and the scenery surrounding them was wild and green. Mason smiled brightly.

Spots like this always reminded him of happier days, being camped out next to a river with his dad and little brother, on a hunting or fishing trip. Nature had a way of putting him at ease like nothing else. He allowed himself a few seconds. To bask in the sights and smells of his muse.

After his momentary respite, he focused his mind back on the task at hand. Taking a break was nice but it was never wise to let your guard down for too long. He took another look around the area, this time with a much more analytical eye.

The pond wasn’t huge by any means. If he had to chance a guess, he’d say maybe it was twenty-five to thirty feet across. “Okay.” He said, turning to Aasim. “I’m going to walk around this edge of the pond.” He punctuated his statement with the pointing of his finger, plotting his course. “You walk around the other side. Keep your eye on the ground and see if you can spot any deer tracks.”

“What does a deer track look like?” Aasim asked him. He truly had never seen one, and had no idea what to look for. “They kind of look like a heart split down the middle with two dots under each half.” Mason replied kindly.

“Alright then.” Aasim said. “Let’s get started.” They did just that, each boy taking his designated route around the pond. It didn’t take long for Mason to finish his circuit. He found himself disappointed that he hadn’t found anything. He waited patiently for his partner to finish, already convinced it was a wild goose chase.

When Aasim was three quarters of the way through his own circuit, he stopped and dropped to a knee. Mason felt his hopes rise the tiniest amount. “Mason, come here. I think I found something.” Aasim said, mild excitement in his voice. Mason rushed over and crouched next to him, eyes trained on the spot Aasim was pointing to. Sure enough, it was a deer track. It looked decently fresh too. 

“Good fucking job Aasim!” Mason praised. “And here you were worried about not knowing what to look for.” He teased, jabbing Aasim in the ribs with his elbow. “Knock it off you jackass.” He said, shoving Mason’s elbow away, not bothering to hide his own grin. “What do we do now?” he asked.

Mason looked up at the tree they stood under and answered his question with a question. “You know how to climb a tree right?” He asked, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. 

“I really fuckin’ hate you, did you know that?” Aasim said grumpily, trying to get comfortable on the small cramped branch he shared with Mason.

“See you say that now.” Mason said, the smugness dripping from his words. “I’ll bet you change your tune once you have some venison in your belly.” Was he getting enjoyment out of Aasim’s discomfort? Absolutely. Maybe it was pure pettiness but it was also pretty damn funny. It most certainly made up for this morning. 

“Dude, we’ve been up in this damn tree for almost 2 hours now. I’ve got twigs poking places they definitely shouldn’t be.” Aasim grumbled. After another fifteen minutes Aasim was fed up. “Fuck this shit.” He said as he began trying to find a foothold so he could begin the climb down. “I’m sick of being up here. I’m going back home. If you don’t wanna get lost, you better get your ass down here too.”

Just as his toes found a lower neighboring branch, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. “No I’m serious.” He said irritably. “This is just a waste of time. I could have-”

“Shut up and look.” Mason said, pointing the the bank across from them. He did as he was told and saw the bushes across from them part as a large form emerged from them. Aasim’s jaw dropped. He was looking at a full grown buck. All the negativity he was feeling evaporated instantly. 

It was time to swallow his pride and his earlier words. Hopefully venison would be tastier. “When you’re hunting deer,” Mason began in a whisper, “you want to hit it in the chest or the neck. The chest is almost always an instant kill. That’s where their hearts and lungs are. The neck will bring it down but it’ll run for a minute or two. I’ll take the shot this time though.” He finished, nocking an arrow. 

He took a few minutes to make sure his aim was steady. Once the deer looked up after taking a drink from the pond, he loosed the arrow. It hit it’s mark with a sickening splat and a terrible grunting death rattle. 

“Come on Negative Nancy,” Mason said, “let’s go grab our haul.” It only took them a few minutes to reach the forest floor. They moved around the pond until they reached their prey. “Man this sucker’s big.” Mason said. “I’d call that a successful hunt. Help me get him back to camp.”

Aasim successfully suppressed a groan and bent down to help Mason lift the carcass. He was kind of glad Mason hadn’t let him leave. There was no way he would’ve gotten this thing home alone. He was definitely going to have to take a dip in the river though. No matter how many times you’ve been covered in blood, you never get used to it. At least he now felt a little better about Mason being around and he’d get to try deer for the first time in his life. It’s the little things in y’know?


End file.
